Those who enter the world of Hollywood know that it can be quite a challenge to be a successful working actor. To even get a foot in the door requires a significant amount of hard work. Some are lucky and get discovered early in their careers while others can work for years before they have any luck. Many actors who have been in the business for decades are often still relatively unknown, having never gotten that one role that catapulted them to instant stardom.
When an actor finally gets that role they’ve dreamed of, it can lead to additional work. They may be afforded the ability to pick and choose what they would like to appear in, but while each new role increases their presence, it also comes with some risk attached. Will it be a blockbuster success or will it flop? Will critics laud their performance or will they be panned? This is typically the critical factor in determining the career path of those involved. If a film is hugely successful, it often catapults those involved to star status.
But in many instances, choosing the wrong film can be detrimental to their career. In the worst-case scenario, a film could be so negatively received that it brings down everyone involved, tanking your career entirely and turning you into dreaded “box office poison.” The movie can be a critical and commercial failure, leading to the perception that an actor is unable to carry a film, especially a big-budget one.
For whatever reason, these films all did irreversible damage to these stars’ careers. But Hollywood loves a comeback, so even though some of these careers never recovered, there’s no counting out a big movie star comeback like these.
“John Carter” (2012)
Taylor Kitsch was a breakout star of the popular TV show “Friday Night Lights” when Disney took a risk and cast him in the lead role in their big-budget film “John Carter,” an adaptation of the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. What was supposed to be a blockbuster instead was one of the biggest bombs of all time, costing the studio a whopping $200 million. His film career stopped before it even took off.
“The Love Guru” (2008)
Mike Myers was one of the biggest comedy stars of the 1990s and early 2000s, with an impressive resume of hits including “Wayne’s World,” “Austin Powers” and its multiple sequels, and “Shrek.” But his star began to wane in the mid-2000s, and the final nail in the coffin was the objectively terrible “The Love Guru,” in which he plays a Westerner raised in India who becomes…a love guru. Full of dumb jokes, it was a total bomb, and his career never recovered.
“Norbit” (2007)
A legend of the comedy world throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Eddie Murphy’s meteoric career began to show some strain with 2002’s poorly-reviewed “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” one of the biggest flops of all time. It kept chugging along through hits including “Daddy Day Care” and “Dreamgirls,” but couldn’t survive 2007’s “Norbit,” in which he plays a mild-mannered guy who’s forced to marry an overweight woman. A long hiatus followed, which is only now coming to an end.
“Gigli” (2003)
Power couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez starred in the romantic crime comedy “Gigli,” one of the most expensive box office bombs ever made and is widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever. It was the low point of Affleck’s career (which was dead in the water for years afterward) and took an especially big toll on J.Lo, who never really regained her leading lady status.
“Freddy Got Fingered” (2001)
At the turn of the century, Canadian comedian Tom Green was all the rage. Thanks to the success of his MTV shock comedy show “The Tom Green Show,” 20th Century Fox offered him the opportunity to write, direct, and star in his own film. The resulting movie “Freddy Got Fingered” was panned and hated by critics, essentially destroying Green’s career. The film has become something of a cult classic in recent years.
“Batman & Robin” (1997)
The “It Girl” of the early- to mid-1990s, “Clueless” star Alicia Silverstone was poised to truly hit the big time with 1997’s big-budget “Batman & Robin,” starring George Clooney as the Caped Crusader. However, the film was horribly misguided and widely panned, still regarded as something of a joke. Even the many high-profile stars in the film couldn’t save it. The film – and her panned performance – killed her career right as it was about to really take off.
“Battlefield Earth” (2000)
Propelled by the success of late-’90s films including “Pulp Fiction,” “Face/Off,” and “Get Shorty,” John Travolta was experiencing a bona fide career renaissance in 2000. This led him to pursue his passion project, an adaptation of the L. Ron Hubbard book “Battlefield Earth.” The movie – and Travolta’s performance – were panned as among the worst of all time, and thus concluded his comeback.
“Showgirls” (1995)
After rising to fame as the brainy Jessie Spano in “Saved by the Bell,” Elizabeth Berkley had a promising film career all but guaranteed. Until she decided to play against type as a stripper in the poorly-reviewed NC-17 film “Showgirls.” Hollywood turned its back on her, and she’s just racked up a handful of credits since, primarily in made-for-TV movies.
“Wild Things” (1998)
Like Berkley, Neve Campbell also shed her good-girl image (cultivated by starring in the TV show “Party of Five” and megahit “Scream”) to a career-killing effect. A huge late-’90s star, she took a risk by starring in the erotic thriller “Wild Things,” alongside Denise Richards and Matt Dillon. Although the salacious romp received pretty decent reviews, Campbell’s reputation never recovered.
“Abduction” (2011)
A breakout star of the “Twilight” saga, Taylor Lautner was given the opportunity to star in his own film, 2011’s action-thriller “Abduction.” The film was a complete flop (with Lautner’s lack of star wattage being especially noted), and he’s only appeared in a couple of movies since then.
“Howard the Duck” (1986)
Lea Thompson was riding high in the mid-’80s, coming off the massive success of 1984’s “Red Dawn” and 1985’s “Back to the Future.” But ’86’s legendary flop “Howard the Duck” all but tanked her career. The film was so thoroughly reviled that it’s gone down as one of the worst movies of all time and brought her career as a leading lady to an end. Even Thompson herself has admitted that the film destroyed her career.
“Jumper” (2008)
Hayden Christensen’s performance as young Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” prequels wasn’t exactly universally beloved, but his career continued chugging along pretty well (including a widely praised turn in “Shattered Glass”) until 2008’s tentpole “Jumper,” which was intended to launch a franchise but instead bombed. Christensen then took a break from Hollywood and has never really returned.
“Cutthroat Island” (1995)
Geena Davis was one of the most reliable stars of the early 1990s, turning out hits including “Beetlejuice,” “Thelma & Louise,” and “A League of Their Own.” But when she starred in “Cutthroat Island” in 1995, a swashbuckling pirate adventure that had a notoriously troubled shoot and an even more notorious box office return, her star power began to fade. The film lost $88 million and became (at the time) the biggest box office bomb in history. Davis appeared in only a few more films over the next decade, and aside from some TV roles, she hasn’t done much else.
“The Master of Disguise” (2002)
“Wayne’s World” and “Saturday Night Live” star Dana Carvey was riding high with HBO comedy specials, popular films, and his own talk show when he launched into star vehicle “The Master of Disguise” in 2002. The adventure comedy, in which he plays a wide variety of characters in various disguises, was immediately recognized as one of the worst movies ever made, and Carvey’s film career never really took off.
“Rollerball” (2002)
Another turn-of-the-millennium star, Chris Klein was on a tear with films including “American Pie,” “Election,” and “Here on Earth” when he was cast to star in the big-budget reboot of the James Caan classic “Rollerball.” The film turned out to be one of the biggest bombs ever, and Klein has barely been seen since.
“Lucky Number Slevin” (2006)
Josh Hartnett was one of Hollywood’s biggest heartthrobs of the late ’90s and early 2000s, proving his range with everything from big-budget action films like “Pearl Harbor” to romantic comedies like “40 Days and 40 Nights.” One thing he couldn’t do, however, was save “Lucky Number Slevin,” a star-studded, neo-noir crime thriller that left audiences underwhelmed. His performance took the brunt of the criticism, and he’s only popped up sporadically ever since.
“Elizabethtown” (2005)
Orlando Bloom made a name for himself in big-budget blockbusters like the “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchises, “Troy,” and “Black Hawk Down.” His career veered down a different path when he decided to change gears and starred in the romantic tragicomedy “Elizabethtown.” Critics panned his performance (and American accent) as shallow and charmless. Leading roles dried up for him soon after.
“Waterworld” (1995) and “The Postman” (1997)
Kevin Costner was one of the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1980s, with hits including “Field of Dreams,” “Bull Durham,” and “Dances With Wolves” cementing his reputation as a likable everyman. But when he starred in two huge flops that performed extremely poorly – 1995’s high-concept action film “Waterworld” and 1997’s “The Postman” – his career slumped. Although he starred in other motion pictures, it’s taken years to make a comeback (he recently starred in the popular western drama, Yellowstone).
“Alexander” (2004)
With hits including “Phone Booth,” “Daredevil,” and “S.W.A.T” under his belt, by 2004, Colin Farrell was one of Hollywood’s most bankable movie stars. But one role changed that: Ridley Scott’s “Alexander,” a bloated, historically inaccurate mess. The film was panned and lost money at the box office. Studios lost faith in Farrell, who has taken on smaller roles in independent movies (with great results) since then.
“Pinocchio” (2002)
Italian actor Roberto Benigni is best known to audiences worldwide for the film he wrote, directed, and starred in 1997’s “Life is Beautiful,” for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor and became universally beloved. A future in American cinema was his to take, but when he followed his hit turn with 2002’s “Pinocchio,” his career didn’t fare well. It was derided as one of the worst movies of all time, and he’s only acted in a handful of Italian films since. (It’s not one of the many box office bombs that are actually worth watching.)